1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to online and/or mobile payments and more particularly to a rapid online payment system.
2. Related Art
More and more consumers are purchasing items and services over electronic networks such as, for example, the Internet. Consumers routinely purchase products and services from merchants and individuals alike. The transactions may take place directly between a conventional or on-line merchant or retailer and the consumer, and payment is typically made by entering credit card or other financial information. Transactions may also take place with the aid of an online or mobile payment service provider such as, for example, PayPal, Inc. of San Jose, Calif. Such payment service providers can make transactions easier and safer for the parties involved. Purchasing with the assistance of a payment service provider from the convenience of virtually anywhere using a mobile device is one main reason why online and mobile purchases are growing very quickly.
Thus, the use of mobile devices such as a smart phones allow consumers to shop and make payments from virtually anywhere. However, conventional mobile shopping situations still require the consumer to perform web-based transaction flows that are designed for a non-mobile system and that are cumbersome and time-consuming on a mobile device for a number of reasons. For example, the display of a mobile device is typically smaller than the display of a non-mobile device for which the web-based transaction flow is typically designed, which may result in difficulties with regard to reading information from and entering information on the mobile device. In another example, mobile device keypads or keyboards present a variety of difficulties with regard to their use relative to a standard keyboard on a non-mobile device, which can result in a higher likelihood of entering erroneous data.
Such problems associated with making purchases using a mobile device may result in a consumer deciding to delay the purchase (e.g., until the consumer can make the purchase on a non-mobile device) or even forego the purchase completely.
Furthermore, consumers may encounter products in non-electronic or web-based forms such as, for example, physical advertisements (e.g., consumers may encounter a product that they wish to purchase but did not initially seek out, i.e., “impulse” purchases). This may occur at any time, e.g., when the consumer is traveling, waiting in line, sitting on a bus, watching the television, etc. Conventional mobile purchasing systems require the consumer to determine how to find and purchase the product using the advertisement. For example, the consumer may be required to use their mobile device to search for the product, go to a website listed on the advertisement, and/or otherwise “find” the product using their mobile device. The consumer is then required to locate a product purchasing page using their mobile device (which presents many of the problems discussed above with regard to the use of mobile devices), followed by the consumer being presented with the conventional web-based purchases flow issues discussed above. It has been found that such conventional mobile purchasing systems, and the issues they entail with regard to mobile devices, are so time consuming that the consumer typically decides not to go through with the purchase.
Thus, there is a need for an improved online payment system.